DR. CONCHITA L. MANABAT l January 25, 2023 l Business Mirror
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
—Confucius
THE Philippine Statistics Authority reported the unemployment rate in the country in November 2022 at 4.2 percent from 4.5 percent the previous month. It was 6.5 percent the year before. The indicated unemployment rate in November 2022 was the lowest since April 2005. The information is an encouraging one as the country seems to be progressing from the pandemic era. However, it is interesting to know the types of jobs those statistics represent.
In a recent report by Bloomberg on Best Jobs of 2023 in the United States, jobs in Technology, Health Care and Business were noted to be in the top list, ranked by median salary, work-life balance and future outlook. Below is the listing of top ten jobs.
Job/Industry
1. Software developer/technology
2. Nurse practitioner/health care
3. Medical and health services manager/business
4. Physician assistant/health care
5. Information security analyst/technology
6. Physical therapist/health care
7. Financial manager/business
8. IT manager/technology
9. Web developer/technology
10. Dentist/health care
Further, the report cited the importance of job security in the light of increasing recession fears. The following summarizes the reported top ten careers with the most job security this year.
Job/Industry
1. Respiratory therapist/health care
2. Web developer/technology
3. Cardiovascular technologist/health care support
4. Epidemiologist, medical scientist/science
5. Financial analyst/business
6. Environmental science and protection technician/science
7. School psychologist/social services
8. Database administrator/technology
9. Registered nurse/health care
10. Medical and health services manager/business
(The Bloomberg US News first identified the largest number and percentage of projected openings from 2021 to 2031 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobs at the top of the list were then ranked using a weighted average of seven components: 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level and work-life balance.)
From the two lists, Health Care and Technology are cited as lead industries both for top careers and presence of job security. Indeed, the three year pandemic years have yielded new and significant developments on a number of things including jobs. Without technology, it would have been very tough to manage the pandemic years. Technology drove all aspects of life. Health Care has globally become a priority.
Our country needs similar information on best jobs, job security and related data. They are important in deriving the nation’s development outlook and the way forward. This is an initiative that the government and/or the private sector should look into. From data analyses, directional inputs for education, business and industries as well as support systems may be derived.
The importance of job creation in nation building is a given.
*** Conchita L. Manabat is the President of the Development Center for Finance. A past President of FINEX and past Chair of the International Association of Financial Executives Institutes, she serves as the Chair of the IAFEI Advisory Council. She is a member of the Consultative Advisory Groups of the International Auditing & Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.